As eviction cases begin working their way through NYC housing courts, The Legal Aid Society is sounding the alarm over the surging economic effects of the continuing health and financial crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic. Legal Aid has predicted a flood eviction proceedings would ensue the court’s rush to re-opening, as renters across the city default due to lost wages and jobs suffered during the State-mandated shutdown.

Many renters have no choice but to struggle onward without adequate rent relief measures, and have little room to legally challenge landlords who do not offer rent reductions, reports Marketplace.org.

“We haven’t seen any changes,” said Judith Goldiner, an attorney with the Legal Aid Society of New York. “Our clients are below 200% of federal poverty which, in New York, is about a family of four earning about $40,000 a year. Landlords have not been giving any concessions.”